Humidifying apparatus for yarns



D 1970 A F. H. HOWORTH 48,511

HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS FOR YARNS Filed Oct. 4, 1968 INVENTOR.

FREDERICK H. HOWORIH BY United States Patent F 3,548,511 HUMIDHFYIN GAPPARATUS FOR YARNS Frederick H. Howorth, Withnall, Chorley, England,as-

signor to James Howorth & Company Limited, Botton, England, a bodycorporate of Great Britain Filed Oct. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 765,136 Claimspriority, application Great Britain, Oct. 7, 1967, 45,984/ 67 Int. Cl.F26b 3/00 U.S. Cl. 34-22 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Ahumidifying unit for supplying humidified air to yarn passing from acreel to a carpet tufting machine in which the unit is divided into twocompartments separated by a porous sheet or sheets for removing surplusmoisture, the humidified air passing from the second compartment to apattern box and being delivered therefrom With yarn along tubes to theknitting positions.

This invention relates to improvements in humidifying apparatus foryarns, and more particularly to apparatus for supplying humidified airto the tufted or pile yarns of carpet tufting machines.

In the production of tufted carpets, particularly for broadloom tuftingmachines, the tufted or pile yarns are drawn from bobbins through tubesand through tensioning rollers in a tensioning or pattern box, fromwhich they pass through further tubes to a needle plate and bar by whichthey are knitted into a ground fabric.

It has been found that variations in atmospheric humidity may adverselyaffect the yarn, causing end breakages of the tufted or pile yarns, bothin the tensioning or pattern box and at the knitting position, and theobject of the present invention is to stabilise and control the humidityof the yarns during their passage to the tufting machine.

According to the invention, air is suppliedto a tensioning or patternbox of a carpet tufting machine from a chamber into which the air isdrawn and humidified by a water spray, the humidified air being passedthrough one or more sheets of porous material such as foamed plasticsmaterial to remove surplus moisture and to provide a controlledhumidified atmosphere in the box, the humidified air escaping from thebox through tubes by which the yarns are guided to the knittingpositions.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the passage of yarn from a creelthrough the humidifying apparatus to a tufted carpet loom;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the humidifier.

Yarn is drawn from bobbins on a creel A through a pattern box B under aplatform C to the knitting section c of a tufted carpet loom, the carpetbeing wound into a roll 0.

A humidifier unit D is provided to supply air to the pattern box B. Airis drawn into the unit D which is divided into two compartments d, d bya porous sheet or sheets d preferably two in succession, of a wood woolor a foamed plastics material such as polyvinyl chloride, preferablyarranged at an inclination to the vertical.

The air is drawn into the first compartment d and humidified by waterspray d the humidified air then passing through the foamed sheet orsheets d into the second compartment d the porous sheet or sheets a!extracting any surplus moisture from the air, with any moisture3,548,511 Patented Dec. 22, 1970 extracted flowing down the inclinedsheet or sheets to a drain d The humidified air from the second chamberd is supplied to the yarn tensioning or pattern box B through a humidityduct situated under the pattern box and exhausted from the box B withthe yarns along tubes b to the knitting position c A curved transparentdeflector d may be mounted transversely of the machine at the exit endof the tubes b to direct the air to the knitting positions.

The air may be drawn into the chamber d by a fan d therein. Water may besupplied around the eye of the fan through a perforated spinner or tospray d by a pump d supplied from a reservoir d the level of the watertherein being controlled by a ball float valve d The temperature of thehumidified air in the chamber may be raised by steam or a hot water coilin the reservoir or by the employment of an electric or other heater dThe supply of water delivered by the pump may be controlled by ahumidistat and solenoid operated valve.

The surplus water draining off the sheets at is returned to thereservoir d.

The apparatus hereinbefore described provides humidified and temperaturecontrolled air in the tension or pattern box B and at the knittingpositions c to maintain the yarns 1 in a predetermined condition fortufting. The temperature and relative humidity may be varied to suit thevarious fibres and types of yarns used in the manufacture of carpets.

The humidifying apparatus may be housed in a unit situated below thetensioning or pattern box.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for supplying humidified air to yarn during passage of theyarn between a creel and a carpet tufting machine wherein said yarnpasses through a pattern box and thence through tube means to a knittingsection of said machine, characterized by means defining a humidifyingchamber connected to discharge humidified air into said pattern box andthrough said tube means, and means comprising a deflector plate at thedischarge end of said tube means for directing said air from the tubemeans to said knitting section.

2. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said deflector late istransparent.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1, wherein said deflector plate is anarcuate air deflecting member that is concave facing said knittingsection.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said humidifying chambercontains inclined porous sheet means dividing the chamber into first andsecond compartments, a fan for supplying air under pressure to saidfirst compartment, a water spray in said first compartment to humidifysaid air which passes through said porous sheet means into said secondcompartment, and a conduit for delivering humidified air from saidsecond compartment to said pattern box.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,992,753 2/1935 Karlson 34-242,060,430 11/1936 Sponner 3423 2,682,116 6/1954 Dungler 3423 2,718,0659/1955 Conti 3423 2,884,706 9/1959 Svavar 3423 3,088,224 5/1963 Cohn3423 3,320,676 5/1967 Speers 3423 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 3423

